The bucket list. Some people think of that as a list of things to do before you “kick the bucket”. I prefer to think about the concept as being fun, cool, positive things to do as we go through life. And while my wife and I have never actually put together that list, we’ve talked about things to do ever since the day we were married. And we’ve had a lot of great adventures!
For no particular reason, I never considered going to Hawaii as one of those things to do. Part of that is the distance and associated time spent traveling and part it is because we have some beautiful islands only a few hours away in the Caribbean. But sometimes life brings surprises that we don’t expect and that happened to my wife and I when some close friends—almost family—bought a very modest and nice home in Hawaii and invited us to visit them there. So just a few weeks ago, we traveled from Baltimore to Honolulu, on the Hawaiian island of Oahu and stayed there first. Then after a few days, we visited our family/friends on the Big Island of Hawaii.
So what does this any of this have to do with craft beer?!? Well, wherever I go and whatever I do, beer always ends up being part of my life! And while not a lot of Hawaiian craft beers make it to Maryland simply because of the distance the beer must travel, I have enjoyed several craft beers here including ones from Kona Brewing Company and Maui Brewing Company.
While my wife and I were in Honolulu, we came across the Maui Brewing Company’s Waikiki location and climbed 8 half-flights of stairs to their massive restaurant and taproom overlooking the Waikiki hotel and shopping district. We grabbed a couple stools, sat at the bar and were immediately greeted by a tall, easy going server. I told him we were from the Baltimore area and that I had enjoyed several of their year-round releases back home. He then immediately recommended I have one of their local, draft-only beers and handed us the beer menu. All of their beers were appealing, but one was especially interesting because it was brewed with lilikoi, a Hawaiian passion fruit. And that’s what I got: Big Island Smash IPA. Lilikoi is a yellow passion fruit with black seeds and a soft and juicy pulp. The lilikoi in Maui Brewing Company’s Big Island Smash IPA added an interesting taste of both tartness and sweetness to the IPA—two of the specific flavor profiles associated with the lilikoi fruit.
You can find Maui Brewing Company’s beers in Maryland now, but not for long. Our server told us that because demand is so high for their beers, they will soon stop distribution east of Texas. So look for it now and enjoy a great, craft beer! Maui’s Bikini Blonde Lager, Big Swell IPA, Pineapple Mana Wheat and Coconut Hiwa Porter are all excellent.
Take a trip to Hawaii this weekend, right in the comfort of your home, with a Maui Brewing Company craft beer!
Cheers!
Jefferson
The Craft Beer Guy
Email: jward@thebayonline.com
